ChokLit-coated R&B Flava straight outta tha ChokLitFactory.

Lil Jon decided to recruit R.Kelly and Mario for an ode to the Dark-skinned chocolate ladies out there, called Ms Chocolate. Drumma Boy produced the track that will be the first official single from Lil Jon’s upcoming Crunk Rock album. Yep, Crunk Rock. The same album that was supposed to be released, what, a good 5 years ago? Remember 2006’s Snap Your Fingers? That was supposed to be Crunk Rock‘s lead single. After massive pushbacks due to TVT Records folding, Lil Jon signed with Universal Republic in 2008 and began working on the album again, with a new ‘worldly’ focus.

Now back to Ms Chocolate. Lil Jon, R.Kelly & Mario sing about how they got love for the Choklit sistas, do we buy it? Do we even care? I actually really like the production and the song is dope! The video is also decent, nice to see R.Kelly still making some appearances. Mario…something makes me want to blurt out LIES when he sings about his preference in women, but I’ll be nice.

What do you guys think of the song and video? Take a look at Crunk Rock’s tracklisting below. The album will be released June 8th.

Wow…is this what happens the Hood gets put on? I pegged K. Michelle as the next to Blow-Pop last year and I still stand behind that. But after dropping by Miss Jia’s page, I found out not only is K. Michelle dating the Pied Piper, R.Kelly himself O_O she opted to release a Trey Songz diss track to the Internet to defend her man!!

“Got some nerve going in at my daddy/ Don’t worry bout it Daddy, go chill at the Chocolate Factory (ha!) ..20 years strong, you got two hot songs/ How you gonna f*ck with Platinum when you just went Gold?”

Hmmm K. Michelle definitely went in, I’m actually feelin it though. Hopefully the Trey Stans don’t catch wind of her calling him out. K. Michelle isn’t just going in on Trey, she’s calling out the Industry itself. K will be ruffling some feathers with this track but for some reason, I don’t smell publicity stunt with this one…

K. Michelle recently released the video to her next Single, Fallen which we will post when we get it. In the meantime, check out her live performance of Fallen in New York City for some Industry heads. I told ya’ll she can blow!

*Sidenote: If K. Michelle and Kellz hit the studio together, can we expect some R.Kelly/Sparkle-type magic that will take us back to the 90s? A girl can dream…

Following the lackluster effort (both creatively and commercially) that was 2007’s Baby-Makin’ Project, Jagged Edge parted ways with Island Def Jam (then being headed by Producer/friend Jermaine Dupri) and signed with Slip-N-Slide Records. Tip Of My Tongue has been bubbling on R&B radio for some months now; Jagged Edge also preformed the song on (Academy Award-Winning Actress) Monique’s talk show. Trina also joins Gucci Mane and Jagged Edge in the song, though Gucci, who is currently incarcerated did not make the video shoot. Good luck to JE on this project…I hope they have some better material this time around…

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Former Reality show stars Brutha, return with their sophomore album Vacancy. I”m glad to see these guys are getting another chance; I liked some of their songs from their debut album. I personally thought the show was too much drama and clouded their talent while putting all their personal business out for everyone to see. Apparently they thought the same thing because this time around Brutha will not be documenting their lives on television. This video was premiered on 106 & Park this past Friday. One Day On This Earth was produced by Mysto & Pizzi, and written by R.Kelly. Clearly!! Listen to the song again, the adlibs, the rhythm, the bridge, a 100% R.Kelly song! I’m feeling this song!

In addition to the top songs of 2009, we added a list of the top albums as well as the top producers that kept the unique beats coming this year. We are going to keep these lists pretty short & sweet and in no particular order.

The Dream & Tricky Stewart – These are the official go-to guys for Urban Pop & R&B these days. You want a hit record? You hit up these two. 2009 was no different for the Producing pair who racked up hit records for Fabolous (Throw it in the Bag), Snoop Dogg (Gangsta Love), Rihanna (Hard) and Mariah’s full album. We will definitely be hearing more from this pair in 2010.

Los Da Mystro – One of my favorite producers, Los has recently branched out from doing songs for TheDream, producing R.Kelly’s Like I Do and Trey Songz’ I Invented Sex. You may also remember Los’ work from the Dream’s Walking on the Moon, Rockin That Sh*t and My Love.

Ryan Leslie – Not only is Ryan Leslie an incredibly gifted artist and songwriter, he is an amazing producer as well. Aside from producing his dedicated work on Transition, Leslie has also contributed tracks to Chris Brown’s Famous Girl and Mary J. Blige’s Said and Done for 2009.

So we hit you with the first 15 hot ones of 2009, and now we have the top 15. This group of songs are a bit more uptempo and more well-known songs from either veteran artists or newcomers who broke through with a hit record. Included in the list of newcomers is Keri Hilson who rose from her role as a resident songwriter to being a resident hit -maker and artist. Melanie Fiona also made a name for herself in 2009, hoping to make an even bigger name for herself in 2010. But instead of me spoiling the suspense, keep reading the find out who makes it to number one!

14. The Dream – Rockin’ that Shit– TheDream is another artist who had a great year professionally and personally. Not only did he marry his pregnant sweetie, Christina Milian, he was promoted over at Def Jam due to his ability to score hits for Def Jam’s many artists. In 2010 TheDream will release his last solo album *tear* Love King. Rockin That Shit was the ish when it was released early last year. Heavy syths and a thumping bass complement Terius’ soft vocals. TheDream can create a melody like a beast and this song exhibits this. And if you don’t remember, the remix to this song was even better.

13. K’Jon – Oceans– Detroit native K’Jon scored a big hit with his serene feel-good song Oceans. In it, K’Jon uses the metaphor of sailing with reaching one’s goals and happiness in life. A very nice song, with some nice vocals from K’Jon.

12. Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Ne-Yo – Knock you Down– We predicted this song would be Keri’s last chance to hit it big and that’s just what happened. Knock You Down is Keri’s biggest hit to date, in North America and abroad. Alongside the Chris Robinson-directed video with guests Kanye and Ne-Yo making appearances, this song helped solidify Keri as a force in the Industry to be reckoned with.

11. Dirty Money – Love Come Down – Diddy has really been feeling himself musically lately. While working on his latest album, Last Train to Paris, he hooked up with former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard and singer/songwriter Kaleena to form the group, Dirty Money. Since their formation, the group has been releasing some really promising music, the best being Love Come Down, a homage to the Total days of Bad Boys with Kaleena providing some sexy vocals over a banging beat and a Jay-Z sample from H to the Izzo.

There is a lot going on right now in Urban music. A lot of Artists are pushing for that elusive 4th quarter sales push, so bear with me as I try to keep up and maintain my sleeping habits at the same time…

R.Kelly has released his second single off his forthcoming Untitled album, titled Echo. This is the song I’ve been hearing was the hit record off his Untitled album so I am glad they have finally released it. Mr. Kelly does not disappoint this time around! Although it is in the same vein as Number One (#thegreatestsex) lyric-wise, Echo has a catchier chorus, complete with full on yodeling.

Kelly sings, “I’ll be waiting for you right there baby/I’ll be waiting to go f*ck like crazy…I hope you’re ready to scream and moan like Yo deh leh eeh ooh”

Ok so not the most innovative lyrics, but it works for the song. Now, this definitely isn’t the first time we have heard Kelly yodel so it is a bit of a throwback for his fans. The material is repetitive but I am glad Kelly has abandoned his T-Pain/rapper aspirations and has gone back to his R&B roots. I think his fans will like this one.

Tierra Marie has been steadily working on her re-introduction to the Urban music scene for some time now. After being unceremoniously dropped by Rocafella Records, Tierra regrouped in her hometown of Detroit before being signed again by Interscope and working on her comeback. On the blogs, she had earned the nickname T-Error for her decidedly failed attempt at female R&B stardom. I support Tierra because I think she actually has a very nice voice and has great command of it. But the poor thing needs a hit badly! In her new song Sponsor, Tierra is singing about her man who is able to sponsor most of the things she wants but cannot afford at the time. Also known as a sugar daddy. I read on another blog about Tierra referencing being in a student-type of situation in the song, hence the need for a ‘sponsor’. Maybe that justifies the basis of the song. Oh well. The song was penned by ATL-based songwriting team, The Clutch. The song is actually quite good, but most of her songs are good. Just not sure if it has the umph she needs. What say ya’ll?

Lately, I’ve been feeling my boy Kellz again. Maybe it was the constant complaining I did about his Mixtape, or the fact that I still bump it in my Choklitpod everyday every now and then. Or maybe it was his official single done with Hot girl of the moment Keri Hilson, Number One. It’s not the most original song or topic, but it works in many ways and on many levels. This is the remix of the song, that was hyped up on Kelly’s website R-Kelly.com. I was disappointed that this ‘remix’ was only the original song dubbed over a new beat instead of the entire song being re-worked. Usually Kelly is infamous for re-working entire songs to reveal ridiculously good remixes. Cases in point: Bump&Grind Remix, Down Low Remix, Friend of Mine Remix, Feelin’ on Yo Booty remix, and the Fiesta Remix. Nonetheless, I really do like the original song but this new sped up, trippy remix is still quite enjoyable. Listen below!

Here’s another oldie buttagoodie. Kelly Price has a beuatiful voice. But as we all know, that’s not all you need to make it in this business. Price has suffered with her weight issues for a long time before she finally changed her routine and made the change to remain in good shape for life. But that is not what this song is about. Friend of Mine is a song about the age-old tale of the ‘best-friend’ who betrays the Code and gets dirty with her girl’s man. It is the ultimate betrayl and it hurts like Hell. In the video, Kelly is pouring her eyes out on the phone with her godfather (played and sung by Mr. Bigg himself, Ronald Isely) as she explains to him what happened. Her man/husband (played and sung by Robert Kelly) has done the ultimate betrayl by sleeping with her best friend. This is one of many soap opera-like songs Kelly had penned before he created the wildly popular Trapped In the Closest series. My favourite line of this song is when Mr. Bigg calls the cheating R.Kelly on the phone as he lays in bed,

ChokLit’s take: Are we still going with the Untitled shtick?? Ok Mr. Kelly. I love Kelly’s quote when he mentions his ‘research’ for this project included throwing parties at his mansion for a good month and judging the crowds’ reactions to his music. For his sake, I hope this was a 25+ only party…I love Miss Info 🙂

ChokLit’s take: This video is on every single blog today so I’m sure you all have seen it already.I chose to watch it with the sound off for my own personal reasons. I love me some Rihanna, but the screeching in this song is a bit much, plus I simply enjoy watching her play dress up instead 🙂 (did that come out wrong??). Of course Rihanna looks stellar and appears ever so confident while performing next to her former Boss. Kanye steals his scenes – the only scenes Rihanna is not dominating. Sorry Hova, we barely noticed ya! Dope video, still.

Didn’t I tell ya’ll Keri was that Chick right now? R.Kelly has released the video for his sultry new hit song with Ms Keri Bay-bee herself, Number One. This performance video includes R.Kelly making a trip to ATL and on the Greg Street radio show while Keri is in Chicago on another radio show. They then begin to seduce their microphones with their lyrics. This is one of my favourite songs out right now; it shows both artists displaying their vocals while singing some well-written lyrics over a seductive beat. Keri is rockin’ a shorty flipped-out hair style in the video while Kelly is still wearing his short cut fade. It is a welcome look for R.Kelly. This song s currently #26 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs. We should expect Kelly’s still untitled album to be hitting stores September 11th. Still not sure what to expect from this effort, but it will be interesting to see. Enjoy the video below.